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Chapter 14 — "The Celebration of the Paschal Mystery of Christ"
OPENING PRAYER
Canticle of the Sun
O most High, almighty, good Lord God,
to you belong praise, glory, honor, and all blessing!
Praised be my Lord God with all creatures;
and especially our brother the sun,
which brings us the day, and the light;
fair is he, and shining with a very great splendor:
O Lord, he signifies you to us!
Praised be my Lord for our sister the moon,
and for the stars,
which God has set clear and lovely in heaven.
Praised be my Lord for our brother the wind,
and for air and cloud, calms and all weather,
by which you uphold in life all creatures.
Praised be my Lord for our sister water,
which is very serviceable to us,
and humble, and precious, and clean.
Praised be my Lord for brother fire,
through which you give us light in the darkness:
and he is bright, and pleasant, and very mighty,
and strong.
Praised be my Lord for our mother the Earth,
which sustains us and keeps us,
and yields divers fruits, and flowers of
many colors, and grass.
Praised be my Lord for all those who pardon
one another for God's love's sake,
and who endure weakness and tribulation;
blessed are they who peaceably shall endure,
for you, O most High, shall give them a crown!
Praised be my Lord for our sister,
the death of the body, from which no one escapes.
Woe to him who dies in mortal sin!
Blessed are they who are found walking by your
most holy will,
for the second death shall have no power to do
them harm.
Praise you, and bless you the Lord,
and give thanks to God, and serve God
with great humility.
Amen.
St. Francis
"THE CELEBRATION OF THE PASCAL MYSTERY OF CHRIST"
—CCC, Nos. 1076–1209
"Let the peace of Christ control your hearts; let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.”
(Col 3:15A, 16A)
Why and how do you celebrate an important event in your family?
We live within a material and spiritual reality that is both visible and invisible. We experience the material world through our senses, but enter into depths of the Mystery of God through eyes of faith.
Liturgy is from a Greek term meaning “public work or work done on behalf of the people.” Through our active participation in the liturgical celebration of the Church, we participate in Christ’s Paschal Mystery—his Passion, Death and Resurrection—in which Christ accomplished the work of our salvation. The Church celebrates the liturgy through an abundance of signs, symbols, and rituals. Every liturgical celebration is an action of Christ, who is our High Priest, and of his Mystical Body, which is the Church—the People of God.
Liturgy embraces all of the official, public prayer life of the Church. Sacrament refers to a particular celebration of Christ’s saving work. We can encounter Jesus Christ in the liturgical celebration and in the Sacraments.
The Sacraments are efficacious signs of God’s grace. That is, they are effective because Jesus Christ instituted them and is at work in them, Christ entrusted the Sacraments to the Church, who oversees and celebrates them. The Sacraments transmit divine life to us through the work of the Holy Spirit.
The Church recognizes seven Sacraments, that are grouped together as follows: Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist); Sacraments of Healing (Penance and Reconciliation, and Anointing of the Sick); and Sacraments at the Service of Communion (Holy Orders and Matrimony).
Through the liturgy and Sacraments, Jesus calls us to worship God, to hear and reflect on the Word of God, to show us how to pray, to deepen our faith, to be nourished by the body and blood of Christ, to build up the Church, to connect us with the Church’s living Tradition, and to grow in holiness, both individually and communally.
The visible reality we see in the Sacraments is their outward expression—their form, words, and symbol, and the way in which they are administered and received. The invisible reality that we cannot visibly see is God’s grace, the free and loving gift by which God offers us a share in God’s life and God’s desire for our eternal salvation through the redeeming Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Our response to this grace is the gift of faith, and our going forth to love and to serve God and our neighbor.
Please read this week
USCCA,Chapter 14, "The Celebration of the Pascal Mystery of Christ," (pages 165–179), the
CCC, Nos. 1076–1209, (pages 277–310),and the
Compendium, Nos. 218–249
REFLECT ON YOUR EXPERIENCE
How do you prepare yourself prior to attending a liturgical celebration?
How do you actively participate in the celebration of the liturgy?
We encourage and invite you to spend time to reflect, pray, and write in your journal about what you have read, seen, heard, or experienced this week. You can find some questions you may wish to consider here.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, in now, and ever shall be.
Amen.